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Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus—Review

When it comes to introductions Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus will often be remembered for its sheer brilliant opening. It’s so good that honestly I refuse to spoil it only to say that it manages to capture the beauty the game offers: violence is the only real solution to conflict.

That is not to say that I’m a violent person, I mean the mere idea of holding a gun freaks me out. But FPS games such as DOOM and now The New Colossus has shown me that violence through games can be an enthralling experience especially if that world is pretty much filled with violent people including yourself. Shoot first, ask questions never.

Like The New Order, The New Colossus puts us in a world where the Nazis rule the United States and it’s up to a group of rebels spear headed by you to stop them. There’s no sympathy for the enemy here, I mean its Nazis. Just kill them all. But even then the characters themselves including the Nazis have personality. BJ carries the same Max Payne—esque attitude of saying bleak lines of poetry for example which honestly never gets old. This time knowing he’s going to become a father does give him an extra emotional layer.

The shooting here feels more refined, TNO had this janky recoil especially with the machine guns but here it doesn’t seem to be a problem. Most notably the game introduces more impressive set pieces, one of the first sections involving shooting from a wheelchair seen often in the trailers is one of many crazy scenarios the game will throw at you. Another major upgrade are the visuals. The graphics in TNC are downright gorgeous with city streets filled with people to enemies that die in the most grotesque ways possible.

The violence is probably the biggest highlight here. The ways to kill your enemies depending on the weapons you choose are wide and varied—my favorite being the axe which you’ve probably guessed includes its own flashy death animations. The dual wielding guns including shotguns turns every room red. The game wants you to be comfortable with its violence and manages to do so perfectly well.

In-between you get moments to reflect with your characters and some of these moments, mostly told through cutscenes, are heavy and tough to swallow. This game is gritty as gritty can get, but it does so with personality.

I’ve played (and finished) both The New Orderand The Old Blood and mostly had a great time with them, but in both I felt a bit tired near the end. So, I’m waiting a bit for this one, but I’ll probably play it sooner or later. Nice review!